What’s new on the Birmingham food scene?

The vibe: Bright, light and airy. Guests are greeted by a large lobby area with comfy seating (their no reservations policy might mean you have to cool your heels a while before a table becomes available), as well as a wall of collected new and vintage oyster plates and art from local artist and friend of the McDaniels, Roscoe Hall. Inside the restaurant, gray and subdued coral seating is paired with zinc-topped tables.

Don’t miss: With more than a dozen types of raw oysters — from Florida to Maine — you could build a sampler platter unlike anywhere else in town. And don’t sleep on the Bayonet Martini, crafted tableside and made with Gray Whale gin, lemon peel garnish and a freshly shucked oyster.

3-9 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Entrées $20-$40. 2015 Second Ave. North. 205-829-1899, Bayonetbham.com. No reservations.

Salud

Acclaimed Bar Adiõs, named one of the top 15 tequila bars in the country by Food & Wine magazine in 2023, specializes in a variety of high-end mezcal and tequila offerings. Fans have long known to coincide their visits with the Salud Taqueria pop-up tent where co-owner Jesús Méndez and his team would sling the most autentico dishes in town.

Now guests can have Salud food anytime with the debut of the brick-and-mortar location Méndez co-owns with business partner and beverage director José Medina Camacho. The restaurant is an ode to Méndez’s parents, Jesús Méndez Sr. and his wife Christina Tellez, who are a part of the day-to-day operations, and the food he was raised with. The fast-casual menu features four proteins and one vegetarian selection: beef two ways (carne asado and suadero), chicken, pork (trompos-style al pastor) and nopal (cactus).

Tacos are served on house-made tortillas, and the condiment bar is practically a meal in itself with pickled vegetables, fresh cilantro, house-made salsas verde and borracha.

Not to be outdone, José Medina Camacho — a James Beard Award finalist for outstanding professional and beverage service — has created a series of rotating house cocktails, a margarita al pastor, frozen sangria, Michelada service, a number of Mexican beers and more.

The vibe: Salud’s neon green sign above walls of wide windows beckons the hungry and adventurous inside. A horseshoe-shaped bar and flexible seating make this an easy fast-casual choice, and the late-night hours mean no one is going to bed hungry after a concert or show downtown.

Don’t miss: The Sonoran Taco is a crowd favorite: a 6-inch flour tortilla with a Oaxacan cheese crust, protein (we’re partial to the suadero), pinto beans and Cotija cheese. Or go all in with the Mexi-Fries, topped with Cotija cheese and a shake of Tajin.

11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-midnight Friday-Saturday. Entrées $5-$16. 1931 Second Ave. North. Saludbham.com. No reservations.

Credit: Caleb Chancey

Credit: Caleb Chancey

Current Charcoal Grill

For two chefs to share the helm of a restaurant kitchen is a rare concept but one that works well at Current Charcoal Grill where co-chefs Adam Evans and Luke Joseph share their binchotan-charcoal cooked Asian American cuisine with diners. Together, the duo takes the finest Southern ingredients — from land and field and sea — and employ a variety of Asian cooking techniques and flavors to create dishes like sticky lamb ribs with black vinegar, cracked spices and chili; yellowfin tuna tataki with crispy lotus root, Cara Cara orange, carrot and sawtooth coriander; coal-roasted snapper with beech mushrooms, roasted garlic and a sake beurre blanc. Local mixologist extraordinaire (and co-owner of Bar Adiõs and Salud) José Medina Camacho has curated a beverage menu that is fun, funky and inspired.

The vibe: Designer Suzanne Humphries Evans (Adam Evans’ wife) has deftly taken a surprisingly large space and made it feel intimate, warm and personal. Ocean-colored tiles line the walls that flank two dueling bars on either side of the large open kitchen. Deep copper countertops offer plenty of space to share dishes with friends.

Don’t miss: Wagyu nigiri with aged soy and fresh wasabi and the yellowfin tuna chirashizushi with salmon caviar, shiso and watermelon radish. But perhaps most surprising is the miso custard tart served with a quenelle of butterscotch and cultured whipped cream. You will swoon.

5-9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 5-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday, happy hour nightly 4-6 p.m. Entrées $26-$58. 1625 Second Ave. South. 205-829-1625, Currentcharcoalgrill.com. Reservations via Resy.

Credit: Slim's

Credit: Slim's

Slim’s Pizzeria

Not all neighborhood pizza joints are created equal. One look and taste of Slim’s Pizzeria in the Crestline Village neighborhood and you know you are somewhere special. Co-owned by renowned portrait photographer Miller Mobley and Frank Stitt Restaurant Group alum John Rolen, Slim’s turns out pizzas crafted with a special flour milled in the nearby city of Ensley, making it hyperlocal.

But before you get to the pies, let’s start with a few appetizers like burrata wrapped in soppressata with charred leeks, sauce romesco and almonds. Or the tuna crudo with zesty calamansi (a Philippine lime), jalapeño, sea salt, olive oil and chives. Salads are large enough to share, especially the chopped Italian teeming with radicchio, gem bibb, chickpeas and artichoke hearts.

Slim’s offers more than a dozen varieties of hand-tossed pies from the simple classic pepperoni to the elevated shrimp puttanesca with olives, capers and orange zest. Ice cream desserts from local purveyor Big Spoon Creamery are standard and flavors are seasonally perfect.

The vibe: Café curtains in the front window belie the atmosphere just inside the British racing green front doors. Warm afternoon light bathes the soft yellow interior of Slim’s, making it seem to glow from within. Large clubby booths anchor the back of the space while smaller tables dot the open center area and banquettes line the walls. Vintage posters impart a European feel and the large mirror behind the bar makes the whole space feel larger than it is.

Don’t miss: Hands down, do not pass on the Hot Honey pizza. Full stop. Pepperoni, mozzarella, a liberal drizzle of that Eastaboga honey and some freshly sliced jalapeños will have you fighting over the last slice.

4-9 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Entrées $15-$27. 65 Church St. 205-848-2706, SlimsPizzeria.com. No reservations.

Credit: Eleven Productions

Credit: Eleven Productions

Armour House

Chef Jeffrey Compton is quick to let you know that his downtown dining emporium is NOT a steakhouse but, as he likes to call it, a beef brasserie. True to form, diners are met with a view of the dry-aged case upon arrival, loaded with a curated selection of cuts. The menu changes often but look for CAB filet mignon, braised lamb shanks and grilled king salmon to make a regular appearance. Sides are served à la carte and suitable for sharing. Start your meal with an indulgent seafood tower and a number of small plates like snapper crudo or charred asparagus cavatelli.

The vibe: Housed in a former meatpacking plant in downtown Birmingham, the Armour House interior has been transformed by architect Chris Reebals whose aesthetic on any project — commercial or residential — is to let the building speak for itself. Guests enter from First Avenue North into a warm, exposed brick interior. Head up a small flight of stairs to the marble-topped bar before entering the dining space where rounded, cream-colored booths flank the back wall, and four-tops dot the vintage hardwood floor. Chef’s counter seating is a coveted spot.

Don’t miss: The potlikker mussels with ‘nduja sofrito and peanut romesco served with French bread from local baker Corey Hinkel will have you rolling up your shirtsleeves. In the mood to gild the lily? Top that 30-ounce Iowa Prime Cowboy Ribeye with either the lobster or black truffle accoutrement.

4:30-9 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 4:30-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday. Entrées $32-$125. 2309 First Ave. North. 205-593-4196, Armour-house.com. Reservations via Resy.